Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations

Monday 24th November 2025 Westminster Hall

16:30

[Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered e-petition 700682 relating to humanitarian obligations and Gaza.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. The petition was started in January 2025 and is titled “Urgently fulfil humanitarian obligations to Gaza”. It reads:

“Act to ensure delivery of fuel, food, aid, life saving services etc. We think this shouldn’t be dependent/on condition of Israeli facilitation as the Knesset voted against UNRWA access to Gaza. We think if military delivery of aid, airdrops, peacekeepers etc, are needed, then all be considered.

Israel does not agree to ceasefire and does not permit UNRWA access. We think the UK must find alternative means to deliver aid. We believe this must done urgently with urgent deadlines, with or without Israeli support.”

The Government responded to the petition in August, noting that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification had issued an alert warning that the worst-case scenario—famine—was unfolding. They also noted that

“All routes to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza are controlled by and must be approved by the Government of Israel.”

And, therefore, the UK

“has collaborated with regional partners on alternative routes for aid to get into Gaza, including air drops and a maritime corridor.”

I believe that this conflict has touched many people across the world. I am sure that every Member in this room will have received high numbers of correspondence from constituents about the ongoing situation. I know this is a topic my constituents care about deeply, and I am proud to be representing their views, as well as those of the nearly 200,000 people who signed the petition.

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for introducing this debate. She has mentioned the number of people who signed the petition, which includes 715 people from my constituency. They will have given money to many of the UK aid agencies that are trying to get this aid in urgently. Does my hon. Friend agree that all the aid getting that urgency is a measure of the success of the British Government’s work with the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre?

[Irene Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting those important facts, and I agree with the points she raises.

I was contacted by a constituent on Friday who said:

“We are still not seeing enough food, medicine, tents or machinery required to clear roads, excavate bombed buildings to recover the dead, restore water and electricity and sewage treatment facilities being allowed through the Israeli blockade. I implore you to use all the influence you have to pressure the Prime Minister to at the very least publicly call out the atrocities that continue in Gaza.”

I receive many emails with that sentiment.

Since 7 October 2023, approximately 2,000 Israelis have been killed, including civilians and Israel Defence Forces soldiers, and more than 20,000 IDF soldiers have been injured. The Palestinian figures are as follows: almost 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza strip, and more than 170,000 have been injured. A UN impact report found that nearly 53% of those fatalities have been women, children and elderly people.

[Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)]

The hon. Lady touches on the burden that women and children are facing. Does she agree that, with 123,000 pregnant women across the west bank and Gaza living with severe malnutrition, inadequate medical care and soaring risks to themselves and their babies, it is incumbent on the Government to provide as much aid as possible so that those 123,000 pregnant women are supported?

[Irene Campbell]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that important issue, and I fully agree with him.

It is important to remember that this situation is fast moving and can change from day to day. The humanitarian aid reaching Gaza has been intermittent and has started and stopped repeatedly. It is vital to note that, since the ceasefire, only a fraction of the promised aid has actually reached Gaza.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents believe that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is best placed to deliver aid in Gaza. Given that the International Court of Justice determined that Israel is under a legal obligation to facilitate the aid operations of UN agencies, including UNRWA, in the state of Palestine, does my hon. Friend agree that the UK Government need to take urgent action to ensure that its close ally acts in accordance with that determination?

[Irene Campbell]

I agree with the points made by my hon. Friend. I will be interested to hear the Minister’s response to this debate.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for leading this important debate. She is quite right that nearly 200,000 people have signed this very important petition at relatively short notice. The reality is that, as well as humanitarian aid not getting in, Israel continues to breach the ceasefire. Hundreds of Palestinians continue to die. Starvation and famine remain a reality for millions of Palestinians. Even basic needs like tents are not being provided, with children having to sleep in contaminated water. Many thousands are already at risk of disease.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK Government and the international community cannot continue to look on as though the whole situation has been resolved? As the Government have, quite rightly, imposed widespread sanctions against Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine, they need to do the same against Israel for its war crimes and continued genocide in Gaza.

[Irene Campbell]

Some of what my hon. Friend has raised will be said later in this debate. As I said previously, it will be important to hear the Minister’s response to today’s debate.

Humanitarian aid reaching Gaza has been intermittent, starting and stopping repeatedly. Since the ceasefire, only a fraction of promised aid has actually reached Gaza. I agree with the conclusion of the UN independent international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which stated:

“Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

On 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirmed that a famine is taking place in the Gaza governorate, and that more than half a million people face

“catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death.”

It also found that restricted access to humanitarian and commercial supplies of food and other essentials was a key driver of famine, saying:

“Since mid-March, access to both humanitarian and commercial supplies of food and other essential goods—including water, medicine, shelter and fuel—has remained critically restricted. A ‘tactical pause’ announced on 27 July failed to improve conditions as violence continued throughout the Strip—including airstrikes, shelling, and shooting.”

[Pam Cox (Colchester) (Lab)]

In October this year, I was pleased, along with other parliamentarians, to meet a senior member of UNRWA as part of our work with the British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He told us how vital it was that UNRWA’s programme of aid be fully restored, given the conditions that my hon. Friend and others have described. Would she agree that it is vital to restore the programme in full?

[Irene Campbell]

I fully agree with that point.

The director general of the World Health Organisation stated:

“There are no fully-functioning hospitals in Gaza, and only 14 out of 36 are functioning at all.”

He also said:

“If you take the famine and combine it with a mental health problem, which we see is rampant, then the situation is a crisis for generations to come.”

The public health report of 13 November attributed the weakened healthcare system to ongoing attacks and resource shortages. The World Health Organisation also found that there is a chronic shortage of essential medical equipment and medicines. Additionally, ongoing fuel shortages in Gaza have restricted the mobility of humanitarian aid and healthcare workers.

As we approach winter and the weather gets colder, the need for humanitarian aid is intensifying. The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that heavy rain has already affected over 13,000 households across the Gaza strip, including hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters. As time passes, the need for items such as tents, blankets and tarps will only increase.

On 6 November, the United Nations stated that the Israeli authorities have rejected more than 100 requests to bring relief materials into Gaza since the ceasefire began. The UN further stated that:

“Since 10 October, more than 6,490 MT”—

metric tonnes—

“of UN-coordinated relief materials have been denied entry into Gaza. Of these, over 3,700 MT were rejected on the grounds that the organisations were not authorized to bring relief items into Gaza.”

[Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)]

To enable the safe transfer of aid, we must uphold the right to provide humanitarian relief to people in need. My constituent, Louie Findlater, was on the recent aid flotilla that came under drone attack. Louie returned safely, but other volunteers were kidnapped and wrongfully detained.

My other constituent, John Chapman, was delivering food with World Central Kitchen when his convoy was struck by an IDF missile. There has been no formal apology for his death, no compensation for his family and little accountability for what happened to him and the other British aid volunteers who have died. Does my hon. Friend therefore agree that humanitarian norms and red lines are not set in concrete, so if we fail to secure accountability for those crimes, and all the horrors of the last two years, the legacy of genocide in Gaza will be a concerning shift to a more dangerous world?

[Irene Campbell]

I agree with my hon. Friend.

Importantly, the United Nations update noted:

“Many international NGO partners continue to face difficulties in being registered in Israel, preventing them from bringing supplies into Gaza and operating at scale, and UNRWA continues to be banned by Israeli authorities from bringing in food and other supplies into Gaza.”

That refers to the October 2024 vote by the Israeli Parliament that banned UNRWA from conducting any activity or providing any service in Israel, including the areas of annexed East Jerusalem, Gaza and the west bank.

Another UN impact report found that, as of 5 November, 38% of households in the Gaza and north Gaza governorates relied on humanitarian aid as their primary source of food, and that figure was 54% of households in the Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates. Shockingly, it also found that more than 90% of children under two years old consumed fewer than two food groups a day, with high-protein foods and micronutrient-rich items extremely scarce.

In his 20-point Gaza peace plan, President Trump specified:

“Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip… Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party.”

It is worth noting that the Prime Minister welcomed that news, adding:

“This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Sadly, that has not happened.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement since 10 October, but I will highlight a case that constituents have written to me about. Just eight days into the ceasefire, the Israeli military fired on a civilian vehicle, killing members of the Abu Shaaban family—seven children and three women who were simply trying to check on their home. The areas still under Israeli occupation beyond the yellow line are not demarcated and, with limited internet access, civilians in Gaza may not know which areas are in or out of Israeli military control. Such cases show how crucial it is that aid reaches Gaza and that peace is allowed to come to the region.

The July 2024 ruling of the International Court of Justice is key. The advisory opinion sets out various obligations in respect of third states, including the obligation to ensure that Israel complies with international humanitarian law. It is very important to consider the International Development Committee’s June 2025 report on its inquiry into UK humanitarian obligations, which states:

“The UK has a legal obligation to both respect IHL and to ensure that it is respected in all circumstances”,

and:

“Once impartial humanitarian relief schemes have been agreed to, the parties (whether or not parties to the armed conflict) must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of these relief schemes, subject to their right of control.”

[Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is talking about the appalling impact of the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza, especially on children. More than half the population of Gaza are children, and they have not only been missing food; they have missed two years of education. I recently met Save the Children and was told that 97% of Gaza’s schools are in rubble and the remaining 3% are used to house homeless people. Does my hon. Friend agree that the future prospects for peace depend on not only getting lifesaving humanitarian food in, but giving those children a future? We must get those schools reopened as fast as possible.

[Irene Campbell]

I agree with everything my hon. Friend says.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend has mentioned children. Last night I met Dr Mohammed Tahir, the doctor featured in the film “The Mission”. In that film, he is shown operating on children without anaesthesia, with dead children at his feet. Only 10%, at best, of medical supplies are getting through to Gaza at the moment. Can our Government not do more to enforce a greater supply?

[Irene Campbell]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention; I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response in relation to these points.

As the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes,

“UNRWA continues to be banned by Israeli authorities from bringing in food and other supplies into Gaza.”

That further complicates matters, because it is important that aid is delivered by those trained to do so. Humanitarian aid is a specialist area, and organisations with experience cannot simply be replaced by others. We need co-ordination on access to aid to ensure that no single party has a monopoly or veto on what can enter Gaza.

The UK is a leader on the world stage, and British citizens are simply asking that we use our position to influence what needs to be done. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response and I ask him to use the significant diplomatic and economic leverage that the UK possesses to do as much as possible to allow aid to those desperately in need and to alleviate suffering.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Esther McVey (in the Chair)]

I remind hon. Members that, should they wish to speak in this debate, they need to bob. I know there are a lot of Members wishing to speak, but I believe there will be enough time for everybody.

16:48

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)]

I will be brief, Ms McVey. I simply say this: anyone who has observed what has happened in Gaza over the past 18 months must be disgusted and appalled at what they have seen—the deaths of children, the deaths of adults and the continued bombardment—and at the role that Britain has played in supplying arms to Israel that have contributed to all that. It is an utterly disgusting situation. History will be very harsh on European and north American politicians who stood by and allowed those weapons to be supplied, knowing full well what was happening to them, while we were watching genocide on live television.

Whole families have been destroyed. I have friends who send me stuff from the west bank and Gaza, and this weekend I was reading about one man who has been left looking after 26 grandchildren because all his children, his partner and his immediate family have been killed. He is an elderly man looking after 26 children, but that is not an unusual situation. He has no money or home, so he is trying to build a tent to house them all. That is the reality of what has happened because of this bombardment.

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman is vividly explaining the reality of what is happening in Gaza and the west bank. Does he agree that the Government of Israel are treating the international community with contempt, as well as the public the world over who are concerned about the genocide? Rather than treating the Government of Israel with kid gloves, this Government have a moral and legal obligation to introduce sanctions on Israel on the scale of those that have been rightly brought on Russia. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that a failure to do so will go down as a real abdication of moral and legal responsibility at this crucial time?

[Jeremy Corbyn]

By any measurement of humanity, the people of Gaza have suffered as grievously as anyone has ever suffered in any conflict in the world. More than 60,000 are already dead, with the rest living among rubble, starving and unable to get the basic needs of medical attention. That also affects children, as the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) pointed out.

We are looking at an utterly devastating situation, which the British Government have been told about many times. They resisted the calls for a ceasefire at the very beginning; we even had the now Prime Minister saying that it was a legitimate act of self-defence by Israel to deny food and water to people in Gaza. Both the Conservative and Labour Governments have a pretty bad record on this, and I would have thought that the very least we could do now is say that there can be absolutely no arms sales of any sort or any military co-operation with Israel.

The so-called ceasefire in the Trump plan basically ensures Israel’s continued occupation of substantial parts of Gaza. It does not say very much about the abominable behaviour of Israeli armed settlers on the west bank, who are destroying villages and killing people as we speak. Surely this House needs to send the strong message that we recognise the right of the Palestinian people to live in peace, as well as recognising the importance and primacy of international law—the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) made that point very strongly.

The hon. Member and I have visited the International Court of Justice at The Hague, and I sat through the entire hearing when South Africa made its application—a moving and fascinating experience. The case was made brilliantly by South Africa, which was condemned by Members on both sides of the House for even bringing the case of genocide against Israel. While it put its case, I was looking at the wonderful ceiling in the Peace Palace and thinking back to when all South Africa’s current leaders were called terrorists and denounced for undermining and upsetting the apartheid regime. They finished apartheid, and then they gave their support to the people of Palestine—well done, South Africa, for having the bravery to do that.

We need to understand the importance of international law. If we believe in international law, as this Parliament and Britain always claim—we helped to write the European convention on human rights and the United Nations universal declaration of human rights—we must stand by it and ensure that the Israeli Government are taken to task for their breaches of human rights around the world.

[Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)]

I reiterate the right hon. Gentleman’s words: we cannot speak of recovery without first seeking and speaking of justice and accountability. Does he agree that all alleged breaches of international law, including accusations of genocide, must be investigated; that those responsible must be held to account; and that the people of Gaza deserve not only immediate relief but a future built on justice? Does he agree that peace is impossible without justice?

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The hon. Gentleman is a lawyer himself and far better qualified than me on these matters. I absolutely agree that justice requires us to act, otherwise we undermine the whole principle of international law. The long arm of international law might even reach to us—yes, to Britain—because we knowingly supplied weapons. We did that knowing that a genocide was going on, which makes us complicit in that genocide.

[Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)]

This issue has a huge reach. Here we are in London discussing it, but I know that since I was re-elected in the summer of last year, every week a vigil has been held for the people of Gaza by concerned, decent people in Ullapool in Wester Ross, very far from here. The milk of human kindness still flows, and we should take courage from that.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

I welcome the hon. Member being returned to the House, as well as the comments that he has just made. The support for Gaza has been incredible, despite the denunciations of all the national demonstrations, which were called “hate marches” by the then Home Secretary. I have been on all 36 of them; I have spoken at every single one and I will continue to do that.

I also recognise that all over the country, small and medium-sized demonstrations are being held in often very small communities. I think that well over 2 million people in this country have shown some degree of support for the Palestinian people through meetings, marches, demonstrations, emails, petitions, letters—a whole lot of things. This issue has moved people deeply, and those demonstrations have made a difference. The rhetoric by both the Conservative and Labour Governments started to change as the demonstrations got bigger; things have begun to change, and people have begun to understand the horror of the life of the Palestinian people.

I will finish with this point, because other Members wish to speak. It is becoming winter in Gaza and the west bank, and despite their latitude, it is actually very cold there in winter. Long before the current bombardment, I recall once being an election observer in Gaza in January, and the weather was bitterly cold and horrible—I thought it was terrible then, but it is a thousand times worse now. People will be dying of cold and hypothermia when there are stacks of tents on the other side of the border in Israel that are not being allowed in. People will be dying because of operations conducted without anaesthetic when plenty of anaesthetics are available just across the border, waiting to get in from Egypt.

This is an abominable situation. Can we not as a House say quite bluntly to Israel, “You’re wrong. What you’re doing is illegal and immoral. History will judge you for being the people who committed genocide against the Palestinian people”?

16:57

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing this debate.

I would like to turn the debate back to what it is supposed to be about, which is the suffering in Palestine. For the people there, there is no ceasefire. Bloodshed, slaughter and starvation remain the reality on the ground. Since the ceasefire was supposedly agreed, 63 children have been killed, according to UN sources—that is two children every day who have been murdered under the so-called ceasefire agreement. Those children who are alive are almost certainly suffering in some other way. They are injured or grieving, having lost their parents, friends or loved ones.

Regardless of the constant violations and airstrikes, and the continued starvation, the illusion of a ceasefire has allowed many to take a moral holiday from the crisis in Palestine. They are patting themselves on the back for having solved this international crisis. Meanwhile, children are still paying the price and most families in Gaza remain trapped in crowded makeshift camps with little or no aid.

We must be under no illusions: as we approach winter, the situation for civilians will only get worse. In the last few weeks, rainstorms and flooding have plunged Gazans into further misery, destroying the little shelter they have left. Tents have been broken; mattresses have been soaked. Because Gaza’s sanitation system has collapsed, much of the water saturating tents, mattresses and even food supplies is contaminated with sewage. There is virtually no dry land left; there is no new safe space to create new camps—there is nowhere else to go.

We cannot allow the pretence of a ceasefire to slow our efforts to fulfil the humanitarian obligations to Gaza, or to excuse a lacklustre approach to supporting civilians. The humanitarian degradation and destruction in Gaza and the west bank remain as urgent as ever. I know that the Minister cares immensely and works tremendously hard. Does he agree that we have entered a situation where the Israeli Government can claim the moral high ground of operating under a ceasefire deal while continuing their assault on Gaza? If so, what representations has he made to Israel and our American partners to urge Israel to act in accordance with its moral obligation under international and humanitarian law and let aid flow into Gaza?

17:00

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair for this hugely important debate, Ms McVey. I begin by thanking everyone from every corner of the UK who signed the petition and forced us into having this debate. It is another perfect example of just how far ahead of the Government and, unfortunately, of this place generally the people of these islands are when it comes to the plight of the beleaguered civilians of Gaza, and demonstrates once again their desire to see peace with justice for the Palestinian people.

Never before have I witnessed such a sustained coming together of people and communities who are determined to show solidarity with the victims of what can only be described as one of the greatest injustices of our time. The people have decided that if 70,000 deaths, 200,000 injuries, Gaza being reduced to an uninhabitable wasteland, the population being in the midst of a man-made famine, the medical infrastructure being obliterated and the occupying power using water and electricity as means of coercion and punishment are not enough to make their Government act decisively, they are going to do something themselves. The people can see that, by denying food and medicine to the starving and the dying, and repeatedly forcing the displacement of millions of civilians, Israel is, beyond any dispute, in flagrant breach of the genocide convention. They also see that the UK has failed abysmally in its legal obligation to both prevent and punish the crime of genocide. By their actions, the people from across these islands are saying to their Government, “Not in my name.”

I pay tribute to the groups in my constituency of Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber that have organised, petitioned, prayed, raised awareness and raised funds for the people of Gaza over the past two years. Events take place every single week. I thank every one of the individuals involved for their humanitarianism and their determination not to turn a blind eye to the suffering and the injustice, as I fear far too many of us have been persuaded to do. In the past three weeks alone, community-led events have taken place in Oban, Dunoon, the Isle of Bute and the village of Ardentinny. I put on record my appreciation of the astonishing efforts of Kathryn Wilkie, Graham McQueen, Marion Power and Dr Anna Leerssen from Oban Concern for Palestine, who raised more than £11,000 for medical aid for Palestinians at one fundraising event in the town a couple of weeks ago. A population of just 8,000 people raising that amount of money is absolutely remarkable.

They are not alone. Last week I spoke at an event organised by Father Roddy McAuley and the parishioners of St Mun’s in Dunoon, where, following a mass for justice and peace and a lively discussion about how we can advance justice and peace in Palestine, a collection was taken for the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund’s Gaza appeal. The same evening, in Rothesay, the Isle of Bute Palestine Solidarity Group held a sold-out music event, raising almost £1,200 for humanitarian projects in Gaza. The following day, in the tiny village of Ardentinny, Dina Macdonald organised an afternoon of music with Rickeera Kaur of the Argyll and Bute Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign where villagers raised funds for humanitarian aid. Those are just the events that I know about; I am sure there have been many others across Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber.

People and communities are refusing to sit back and, by their silence and inaction, allow the suffering of the people of Gaza to be conveniently forgotten about. It confirms what I have known for the past two years: when it comes to supporting defenceless civilians from genocide, the people of these islands are miles ahead of the current and the previous Government. They know that, however welcome the arrival of a ceasefire might be, the crisis has not gone away. There are still millions of people suffering who desperately need our help.

Given the shameful track record of successive UK Governments over the past two years, they have to be held to account and never be allowed to give up on their moral responsibility to the people of Gaza. The people of these islands recognise that, unlike other one-off appeals made at times of humanitarian crisis, this is not a natural disaster. This is an unnatural disaster being perpetrated by one of the UK’s closest allies while the UK Government continue to provide them with political and military support.

It is not that the current Government or the previous Government do not know what Israel is doing. In May the then Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), openly acknowledged Israeli war crimes against the civilian population when he said,

“the Israeli Government’s denial of food to hungry children…is wrong. It is appalling.”—[Official Report, 20 May 2025; Vol. 767, c. 927.]

But not, it would appear, appalling enough to stop the supply of weapons and end military co-operation, for the UK to make available the contents of reconnaissance flights over Gaza to anyone bar the Israeli military, or for meaningful sanctions and a co-ordinated effort to end the siege and have aid flood into Gaza free from Israeli control.

It is inconceivable that the UK would have allowed any other state to act with the impunity with which it is allowing Israel to act. The UK rightly sanctioned Russia, but now stands rightly accused of allowing a two-tier system of international law to operate. The UK Government’s failure to put significant pressure on Israel to lift the siege is nothing new. Last year, as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I visited Al-Arish on the Egypt-Gaza border, where I saw warehouses full of donated medical equipment, including wheelchairs, crutches, incubators, individual birthing kits for women in labour, medical cold storage boxes, generators and water storage bladders. They were in warehouses because the Israeli authorities had rejected out of hand the Red Crescent’s application to deliver them to those most in need in Gaza. There were warehouses full of food and miles and miles of lorries parked up waiting for permission from Israel to deliver that food aid.

That is what I mean when I say that this is an unnatural disaster—unnatural because it is deliberate. It is a man-made catastrophe in which people are not starving; they are being starved. The Prime Minister recognised that in September when he said,

“The Israeli Government are preventing urgently needed aid from getting in, which is why we are now seeing a man-made famine”.—[Official Report, 3 September 2025; Vol. 772, c. 286.]

Yet despite recognising that the Israeli Government are responsible for creating this man-made famine by using food as a weapon of war, that same Prime Minister and his Government have steadfastly refused to do anything other than impose performative sanctions against a couple of individual Ministers, while continuing to provide the military and political support the Netanyahu regime needs to continue doing what it wants. That is why the people of the United Kingdom have over the past two years come together to support the civilian population in the way that they have.

By signing this petition, people in every corner of the UK, including the great folk of Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber, are demanding that the UK Government do much more to hold Israel to account for its actions, to force Israel to lift the siege, and to assist the United Nations in flooding Gaza with whatever assistance is required to end the appalling suffering. I sincerely thank them, commend them and applaud them for their efforts.

17:09

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair this afternoon, Ms McVey. I thank all the petitioners for their efforts, as well as my constituents who, as the hon. Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara) also highlighted, have for decades been campaigning on this and standing with the people of Gaza and across the occupied territories of Palestine.

The critical humanitarian situation in Gaza must remain the focus of this Government. The demand for medical and surgical facilities, for equipment, for clinical staff and interventions, is as great as ever. The consequences of famine and war alongside the more recent surges in violence after the so-called ceasefire, which continue to require an acute response, need to be considered alongside the chronic need to manage disease, poor sanitation and malnutrition and, as we heard earlier, the particular healthcare needs of often incredibly frail women and children. There is also the issue of maternity provision, when 130 babies are born every day into this horrendous situation—a fifth prematurely or with enduring complications—and, of course, that constant need for good public health.

[Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Lab)]

UNICEF has highlighted that the Israeli blockade is preventing nearly 1 million bottles of ready-to-use infant formula from reaching babies in Gaza at risk of malnutrition. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must impose widespread economic sanctions on Israel unless and until that aid is let through?

[Rachael Maskell]

I thank my hon. Friend. It is an obscenity that mothers cannot feed their infants and have only filthy, disease-ridden water to give to their children. Of course we have to use every lever we have to address that injustice—including sanctions on the Israeli Government. As we have already heard about in this debate, we have applied those to other nations; we must apply them to the Israeli Government too.

In the light of the makeshift, ready-to-erect hospitals sitting on the other side of the border, it is vital that there are negotiations to bring them across, so that such facilities can be erected rapidly and provided with the support needed, whether that is equipment, pharmaceuticals or, crucially, medical staff. I understand that the number of health service points has risen from 197 in October to 219 today, but the levels of staffing and equipment have to match the need. With so much reconstruction of medical facilities needed, how are the UK Government ensuring that an assessment of sites is undertaken so that construction can be prioritised around healthcare? Likewise, what are the health needs for the workforce to be taken into Gaza? How can we support that effort, both in this transitional period and in the long term—and with the equipment and pharmaceuticals required as well—so that we can support the supply required at this time? We have already heard about anaesthetics not being available and operations taking place without them; we cannot imagine the suffering that people continue to endure. This is urgent, and we need to be able to address those health concerns.

As we have witnessed in wars across the world, it is women and girls who are targeted; sexual violence has further wounded survivors, and we should increase support services for them, alongside rigorous safeguarding to ensure that children are protected from those who, tragically, may prey on them. What has the Minister done to raise that specific issue with the Israeli authorities and to ensure that children are safeguarded?

Regarding the health workforce, are we confident that medics and other health professionals taken captive by the IDF have all been released? If not, what is the Minister doing to press that point? Their skills are needed, and it is important that they are given safe passage back into Gaza to support their community.

[Sarah Russell (Congleton) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that journalists must also be given free access to Gaza and that it is important that international reporting resumes immediately?

[Rachael Maskell]

Of course. Journalists are the eyes of the world, and they open all our eyes to the suffering and the scale of what is happening. We need to ensure their safety and security, as well as the free access that my hon. Friend calls for.

I understand that 16,500 people are currently registered for medical evacuation, with many more yet to make the list. Those long lists are posing serious risk to life. The UK has evacuated 51 children, plus family members, for medical treatment, yet the need for lifesaving interventions is overwhelming. How will this Government ensure that that need is addressed proportionately? We can do more, and we must do more.

Médecins Sans Frontières rightly highlights that priority should be given not just by age, but by medical emergency. Are we ensuring that patients are properly triaged and that we are taking those most in need? I also believe that we could do a lot more to scale in the region. I trust that the Minister can set out exactly what is happening to ensure that people can cross the border and receive the healthcare they need, as well as to allow the aid to flow—it cannot be impeded at the border any longer, whatever that requirement is.

Beyond that, I would like the Government to consider how we can assist in the training of medical and other health professionals from Gaza. Our medical, nursing and allied health professional schools are first class. With all the universities in Gaza decimated, there is a clear need to ensure that the Palestinian healthcare workers of the future are given the right training and the opportunity, alongside those currently practising, for remote supervision and interventions to support them. How can we further help support those programmes? Are we doing everything we can to ensure that vaccination programmes are in place, particularly given the significant risk of disease?

The trauma is unimaginable and enduring. We need to ensure Palestine has the opportunity to heal. Many of us talk about mental health support in our country, but we cannot imagine the scale at which it is needed in Gaza. What are we doing to ensure that the right mental health support is given to heal that nation?

It used to be that, when we saw injustices across international borders, and the world order was not working, we called the world together to ensure that we changed the world order and justice was served. To this date, it seems that we follow the rules and do not set them any more. I ask the Minister to dig deep at this time and say, “What more can we really do to ensure that we are once again the convening voice for changing the world order, to see that justice is served and people have the aid and resources they need to move forward from this tragedy, which will mark us all in years to come?”.

17:18

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

It is a real honour to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank all the individuals who signed the petition.

So much has already been said in this debate, so I will concentrate solely on the casualties of this horrendous conflict, particularly children. We have all heard powerful testimonies today, and we have all seen the images on our screens, but we must never forget that the numbers are not just numbers. Behind each and every one is a child, a human being—somebody’s flesh and blood. In the words of a Palestinian grandfather, it was the “soul of my soul” who he buried.

Save the Children recently highlighted that, in 2024, an average of 475 Palestinian children suffered lifelong disabilities. We have heard that potentially more than 30,000 children have been killed and more than 1,000 people have been murdered in the west bank, of which 217 were children. Those children have passed on, but I want to concentrate on the ones who have been left behind. Every month, because of the war, many children suffer traumatic brain injuries and burns, and Gaza has become home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history. The question is what we can do about that.

Using private donations, Project Pure Hope has managed to evacuate a grand total of three children so far for urgent treatment in the UK, while 10 children have been brought over by the UK Government for urgent care. We have brought refugees to this country before—we rightly brought more than 200,000 Ukrainians here—so I am sure that we could find the heart, the means and the ways to bring our Palestinian children here if we really wanted to.

I have a constituent who we, along with the University of Leicester, managed to bring over from Gaza as a postgraduate student. Sadly, she contacted me three weeks ago to say that her family home had been bombed by the Israelis; her brother was killed, while her niece Nour Abrahim and her sister-in-law Ronza Muhammad were badly injured. Even with little things such as shrapnel in their legs, there are no antibiotics, so they are getting sepsis. I have written to the Minister about that case, and I know that he would help in any capacity to get these children over here if he could; I am pleading with him to see what his Department can do to bring that family to safety.

Finally, I want the UK Government to commit to two practical steps. First, they should advocate for and help to deliver safe, protected medical evacuation routes for children and other vulnerable civilians. Secondly, they should establish a clear, compassionate commitment to receive a defined number of the most critical medical cases in the UK, particularly where the individuals have close family already here. We cannot overturn what has happened, but at least we can prevent the tragedy from becoming even worse for those who have survived.

17:22

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairing, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee.

Gaza’s healthcare system has been severely depleted. Israel’s campaign has destroyed health facilities, killed health workers and restricted vital medical supplies. The UN independent international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories reported in September that Israel’s actions, including the systematic destruction of the health system, amount to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Although the recent ceasefire has allowed a greater flow of aid, including vital health supplies, more must be done to ensure that the level of supply meets the scale of need.

As winter approaches, the health needs of Gaza remain dire. Israeli authorities continue to impede full humanitarian access—which is a legal obligation under international law, not a concession of any ceasefire.

[Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) (Lab)]

Given the ICJ ruled last year that there is a “plausible” case of genocide in Gaza, and given that the humanitarian situation has drastically deteriorated since then, does my hon. Friend agree that the UK must actively support efforts to ensure that every rejection of aid and refusal to allow trucks in for spurious reasons is documented, so that it can be put before the ICJ in the South Africa case to hold Israel accountable for breaches of international humanitarian law?

[Martin Rhodes]

I agree. It is vital to have proper documentation of what is happening, and the point was made earlier about the need for journalists to have access, so that they can report on what is happening and we can hold people to account.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

In addition to those who have plausibly been found to have endorsed or committed acts of violence against journalists, many have endorsed or committed acts of violence against aid and health workers. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) just said, urgent work is needed to record all those crimes and ensure that there is a reckoning for all those who have endorsed crimes against humanity and that justice is done?

[Martin Rhodes]

I agree. We have a ceasefire—a very fragile ceasefire—but, even if it is successful, we must ensure that people are held to account for what has gone before. We should not allow progress with the ceasefire to take away from accountability for past actions.

[Mr Adnan Hussain]

I recognise what the hon. Member says about past actions, but blocking food is also a war crime—does he agree?

[Martin Rhodes]

I agree. I was referring to past actions, but this is not just about what has gone on in the past. People must be held to account for what is happening now. As I have said, the withholding of humanitarian aid is itself an act in breach of humanitarian and international law, and those responsible for it must be held to account.

[Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)]

Israel recently voted to deny access to UNRWA, the primary aid agency with the deepest operational footprint in Gaza. That is a move to end humanitarian relief for Gaza. The ICJ ruled, in its advisory opinion on 22 October, that Israel’s allegations that UNRWA lacks impartiality are unfounded, and that Israel’s obstruction of the agency’s outreach work is at odds with international law. Does my hon. Friend agree that we, the United Kingdom, must now shift to acts of consequences and activate every available alternative, with or without Israel’s support?

[Martin Rhodes]

I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of UNRWA in ensuring the co-ordination and delivery of humanitarian aid. Its access must be unfettered; it must be allowed in and allowed to do the work that needs to be done on the ground.

Last week, the UN reported that more than 13,000 households across Gaza were affected by heavy rain and severe flooding, with sanitation systems having collapsed as a result of intense bombardment and siege. Rainwater no longer drains properly and—now mixed with sewage—has flooded people’s tents. Save the Children staff report seeing children sleeping on the bare ground, with no shelter, in clothes sodden with sewage water. The already high risk of preventable disease is growing and health workers on the ground see sustained rates of malnutrition, diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Such conditions and ailments are entirely avoidable in the modern world. Responsibility for those awful conditions lies with the restrictions and delays imposed by the Israeli authorities. Therefore, the UK must prioritise humanitarian access in all our diplomatic engagement on the future of Gaza.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

We know, and we have heard this afternoon and evening, that Palestinian children have paid the heaviest price in this devastating conflict. Many children in Gaza City and the surrounding areas are severely malnourished. Does my hon. Friend agree that Israel and the international community must do whatever they can to ensure that aid is allowed, without obstruction, to those areas where it is most vitally needed for the children affected?

[Martin Rhodes]

I agree—there is a huge priority in getting humanitarian aid in, and it is absolutely upon the international community, including ourselves, to do all that we can to ensure that flow of aid.

To ensure that children and families have sustained access to aid and the services needed to recover and rebuild their lives, Gaza’s healthcare system must be restored. For that to happen, there must be a removal of all remaining restrictions and bureaucratic impediments to the entry of aid, especially food, water, fuel, medical supplies and other critical humanitarian items. I therefore hope the Minister will confirm that, as part of the UK’s involvement in the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre tasked with co-ordinating humanitarian aid and recovery in Gaza, he has set the critical and achievable objective of ensuring that British aid charities such as Medical Aid for Palestinians and Oxfam can operate freely and without restriction in Gaza, including with unhindered entry for staff, medical teams and vital humanitarian supplies.

Many questions remain regarding the scale of continued suffering in Gaza. Why did UNICEF have at least 938,000 bottles of infant formula released only recently, when they were stuck at the border since August? How can a lifesaving vaccination campaign by UNICEF succeed when 1.6 million syringes and other vital supplies have been kept outside Gaza for months, blocked from entering despite the urgent necessity? Why, according to UNICEF, have at least 58 children been killed in conflict-related incidents since 11 October?

The UK must redouble efforts to pressure Israeli authorities to maintain the ceasefire and allow UN-backed professional humanitarian agencies to reach people in need at scale with meaningful assistance. Only then will Gaza be able to rebuild its homes, health and future. A viable Palestinian state is required if we are to see a two-state solution. I look forward to the Minister’s response to this debate.

17:30

[Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. The e-petition is focused on our humanitarian obligations in Gaza. Over 600 people from my constituency signed it, along with over 200,000 people from across our nation. As the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) mentioned, there is an immediate need for aid to be delivered, with or without Israeli support. That is the key point.

Since the ceasefire began, the situation has remained deeply unstable and deadly. The only positive that has come from the ceasefire is the release of the living hostages and the return of the remains of those who were killed. But leaving that positive aside, Israel has continued with impunity its relentless attack, murder and starvation of women, children and men. In the last 44 days, since the ceasefire began on 10 October, an estimated 497 Israeli violations have been documented. Around 342 Palestinians have been slaughtered, and nearly 875 injured—most of them women, children and the elderly. The violations include 140 incidents of direct gunfire at civilians and homes; 220-plus bombardments by air, land and artillery; 21 ground incursions beyond the agreed yellow line; 100 demolitions of homes and civilian structures—some of the few that were remaining; and the continued blockade of humanitarian aid, which is being used as a weapon of genocide.

The need for aid—just to meet basic needs—prior to 7 October 2023 and the current conflict, was 500 trucks per day going into Gaza. For decades the majority of that aid was distributed across Gaza by UNRWA. Throughout 2024 and early 2025, only an average of between 36 and 100 trucks of aid a day entered Gaza.

[Tahir Ali]

Does the hon. Member agree that it is now, with immediate urgency, that this Government need to work with international partners to deliver the aid that is required through a military-led humanitarian corridor, so that no aid can be blocked by Israel?

[Iqbal Mohamed]

We must do whatever it takes to get aid into Gaza to stop people dying of starvation, and to get in medical aid to stop people dying from treatable illnesses and injuries. Not only must this Government and all their allies work together to get aid into Gaza, but any involvement of Israel in Gaza must be immediately removed. Israel must not have any part to play in the peace plan. It is the perpetrator of a genocide. How can it be allowed to participate in distribution or the implementation of a peace plan that will save lives in Gaza?

The peace plan said that a minimum of 600 trucks a day would be allowed into Gaza to support more than 2 million people to meet their basic needs. However, much more than that is needed as a result of the complete annihilation of Gaza, its infrastructure and its medical facilities. Malnutrition exceeds 90%, and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification announced that phase 5—famine—was reached in July this year. The UN says that at the current pace of less than 100 trucks a day, it would take six months just to deliver the pre-positioned aid that is at the borders. UNRWA estimates that, on average, there has been a maximum of 150 to 170 trucks of aid a day, so the ceasefire has done little to stabilise access to essential services.

We have heard that the Gaza health system remains on the brink. Hospitals and clinics continue to be understaffed, undersupplied and under threat. UNICEF and other agencies have warned that the collapse of medical infrastructure means that even treatable illnesses can become life or limb-threatening. People continue to starve as aid is held up by the Government.

The pattern we are seeing is stark. Even with the supposed truce, children are being killed, people are being wounded and violations continue with impunity. I have said this in the main Chamber, and I will repeat it: Israel does not want peace, it does not want the Palestinians to have their state, and its plan of complete extermination of the Palestinian people is continuing to be enacted before our very eyes. It has been more than two years—we are now in the 26th month—and we must act now to get Israel out of Gaza, to get all the aid that is waiting at the borders in, and to provide all the supplies to start rebuilding not just the buildings in Gaza but people’s lives.

The violation of international humanitarian law continues unabated. The ceasefire was never a cure, but it was an opportunity for real, sustained protection of civilian life from Israeli bombardment. We must demand that Israel adheres to the pause in hostilities not just in name but in practice. The delivery of aid, including food, water, medicine and critical services, must be allowed immediately and unfettered.

Our moral responsibility demands more than words. I am so sorry to say this, but since I became an MP, I have not seen a concrete step by our Government that I believe has saved lives. The millions of pounds in aid that have been allocated to helping Gazans has been sat at the borders. Our supply of weapons and parts for F-35s has continued. The amount of weapons sold to Israel since this Government came to power is four times as much as over the last three years of the previous Government. Our complicity and active participation in these atrocities must stop, and the Government must act immediately to get aid in.

17:38

[Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. Gaza is in ruins. Almost everything needed to sustain life—homes, businesses, farmland—has been reduced to rubble. The international responsibility is clear: provide aid, restore essential services and help Palestinians reclaim control over their future. For peace to last, we cannot just focus on the absence of violence; we also need to rebuild the foundations of long-term stability. Gaza’s people need long-term support and the opportunity to rebuild their lives, even when global attention has shifted. That means enabling Palestinians to play a central role in rebuilding their lives and institutions, because reconstruction must include both physical infrastructure but also civic systems that ensure that Palestinians can govern themselves freely.

The Israeli Government must abandon the stranglehold they have on Palestinian aid. Despite their pledge to allow in humanitarian relief, they are still blocking desperately needed supplies. Aid must reach Gaza, alongside the restoration of critical infrastructure, such as electricity and water treatment, and public services. Only then can the larger task of reconstruction move forward.

[Mr Adnan Hussain]

Does the hon. Member agree that it should be the Palestinians who determine how Gaza is reconstructed, that a Palestinian body should select which companies get which contracts, and that all the reconstruction contracts should be properly accounted for and delivered to a proper standard?

[Lizzi Collinge]

I absolutely agree. The Palestinians must be in the driving seat. A solution should not be imposed on them. Palestinians know best what is right for them and their country, and that has to be central. Any moneys that go in have to be properly accounted for, and any reconstruction done properly.

As I have said, civic infrastructure is key. It is right that Hamas play no role in the governing of Palestine going forward. It is an horrific organisation, and its extreme ideology and violent actions have caused immense harm, both within and without Palestinian borders. It cannot be allowed to control Gaza’s future.

However, history offers crucial lessons on how to shape post-war civic society. For example, in the wake of the Iraq war, the restoration of essential services was strained by the absence of administrative and management personnel. The de-Ba’athification of the Iraq Government decimated the state bureaucracy and hollowed out civic infrastructure. Any holder of a Ba’ath party card was dismissed. That included teachers and low-level functionaries, who needed the card to work.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley) (Lab/Co-op)]

There are over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, many of whom are part of civil society and part of an opposition. One of them, Marwan Barghouti, has been in Israeli prison for 23 years, seven months and eight days and has now been threatened with execution by Ben-Gvir. Is it not time that we released some of the people who could reinvigorate both the Palestinian political scene and civil society?

[Lizzi Collinge]

I absolutely agree that Israel must release prisoners, particularly those who are there for their non-violent actions against the occupation. The Palestinians will need all talents, and the Israeli Government must take action on that.

I was speaking about the aftermath of the war in Iraq. Obviously, the situation in Gaza is not a carbon copy of what happened there; that was simply an example of where thoughtless implementation of a reasonable headline policy had an impact that went far beyond the stated intent.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The hon. Lady is making a very interesting speech. As she rightly says, in the aftermath of the Iraq war, there was a de-Ba’athification policy, which had the effect of destroying all public services, allowing anyone to get weapons from the now dysfunctional army. It set off a whole chain of the most ghastly civil and local conflicts. That is a real danger. Things have to be maintained. In Gaza now, despite everything, there is still some degree of functionality in the operations of local government, which is attempting to make plans for the rebuilding of towns and villages all across Gaza. Surely we should be a little less judgmental of those involved and support them in trying to make a start on reconstruction.

[Lizzi Collinge]

I absolutely agree that we need to use the people on the ground, who know the area best, in rebuilding. The international community would be foolish not to look at previous post-war measures in other conflicts and learn the right lessons, because the people of Gaza cannot afford for preventable mistakes to be repeated. With an economy in ruins and a population traumatised by years of conflict, Palestinians need international help to rebuild.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

As has been said this afternoon, the ceasefire is hugely welcome, but it does not, on its own, restock a hospital, rebuild a home or feed a hungry child. Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK’s recognition of the state of Palestine is a crucial step in supporting the Palestinian people to rebuild their country?

[Lizzi Collinge]

I absolutely agree that our recognition of a Palestinian state earlier this year is crucial to ensuring that Palestinians can rebuild fully. As my hon. Friend said, it is not simply the stopping of violence that counts; it is all the next steps. Efforts must be led by Palestinians across the whole of society. In particular, women need to be actively included throughout reconstruction. They need to be guiding it throughout and not simply be an afterthought.

This window of time could not be more important. Recent history should remind us that what is meant to be temporary can often become entrenched. Israel’s occupation of the west bank has lasted 50 years.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

I commend the hon. Lady, who is making a very important contribution. This is looking to the medium and long term; but, candidly, if there is to be any civic infrastructure in Gaza, the seeds of that must come from the west bank, and in the west bank it is under threat day and daily. Therefore, although she is right to say that the international focus has to be on Gaza, we cannot ignore the fact that Palestinians in the west bank are undergoing a horrific programme of settler oppression, settler violence and settler expansion, which threatens both Gaza and the west bank.

[Lizzi Collinge]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Although the international focus has been on Gaza, horrific acts still continue in the west bank and the people there are living in fear of settler violence. That is why I very much welcomed sanctions on some settler organisations, although I think we could have gone further. The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. For Palestine to live freely, we have to talk about the whole of Palestine. It cannot be divided; it cannot be carved up piecemeal, and the illegal occupations absolutely must stop now.

Too many Palestinians fear that the destruction, displacement and suffering that they have endured will become permanent. We cannot let that happen. So much has been lost and so many lives have been destroyed, but those who survive need urgent aid and the chance to rebuild. Our responsibility is to ensure that the people of Gaza emerge from this horror with the tools, support and autonomy to shape their own future.

17:47

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms McVey, and to be able to speak in this e-petition debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) on her opening of today’s debate. As the former Chair of the Petitions Committee, I know that the e-petition system engages so many of our constituents and gives us the opportunity to talk about the issues that matter to them. With nearly 200,000 people having signed this e-petition, it is clearly a very good example of the Petitions Committee acting at its best and giving us the opportunity to talk about the things that matter to our constituents.

This petition was signed by 278 of my constituents, but in the last two years I have had contact from well over 1,000 of my constituents on this issue, and that says to me that it engages, energises and impassions them. They see on their TV screens the suffering in Gaza and they want us, as parliamentarians, to do something about it. I place on the record my thanks to the many constituents who do not just contact me as their Member of Parliament about this issue, but regularly go out and fundraise. My constituents have raised money for various humanitarian charities through fundraising activities, concerts and regular collections right across Lancaster and Wyre, and many of them will be following this evening’s debate. In fact, I was so inspired by them and by the scenes, and the accounts that we get from aid workers, on the ground in Gaza that I signed up to run the Great Scottish Run in October of this year, and I raised £5,174 for Medical Aid for Palestinians. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Thank you. Shortly after completing that run—I place on the record my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—I had the opportunity, with the all-party parliamentary group on Christianity in the Holy Land, of which I am a vice chair, to visit the Holy Land and meet Christian organisations.

I will keep my remarks short, because I broadly agree with so much of what has already been said about access to humanitarian aid. I want to talk specifically about something that has not yet been touched on as much, which is the way in which the Christian community in Gaza has been impacted by events. The Holy Family church in Gaza was struck in July of this year. That killed three people who were sheltering there and injured 10 more. Following that attack, Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pizzaballa visited the churches in solidarity with the communities on the ground.

On the all-party group delegation visit earlier this autumn, we had the opportunity to meet church leaders in Jerusalem. We heard from them about the relationships they are trying to maintain with the Christian churches in Gaza, and how that is so challenging because of the ongoing war. All three of the Christian sites—the Holy Family church, St Porphyrius and the al-Ahli hospital—have been damaged multiple times since the start of the year. We know that around 600 Christians continue to shelter in the two churches.

While there has been an uptick in humanitarian support since the ceasefire came into effect in October this year, it is still small, and the community continues to suffer and to have difficulty accessing the absolute basics, as colleagues have touched on.

Very briefly, I call upon the Minister and the Government to hold relevant actors to account to ensure that the current ceasefire is bolstered, supported and maintained, and that an adequate flow of aid reaches local people in Gaza. I implore all parties to explore opportunities to offer economic support for rebuilding church-run hospitals, schools and charities, and to secure access to Gaza for the heads of churches. As I mentioned earlier, that has not always been easy for them. We must ensure that all Governments engage constructively with the churches as a partner in the interfaith dialogue that was put forward in point 18 of Trump’s peace plan. Although the Christian community is a minority community, it still has an important and significant role in the ongoing and long-standing peace in the region.

Finally, I ask the Minister what pressure he is putting on Israel to allow journalists into Gaza, because without journalists on the ground it is very difficult to know the full extent of what is going on. They are, of course, the eyes of the world, and we need free, unimpeded reporting about what is happening in Gaza. With that, I draw my remarks to a close and thank all those who have signed the e-petition and given us the opportunity to put on record our concerns about the situation in Gaza.

[Dawn Butler in the Chair]

17:52

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening this important debate. I also thank the 1,351 residents of my constituency for signing the petition, a number that speaks to the extent of distress and concern that they feel about the situation in Gaza.

The ceasefire, which began on 10 October, is very welcome, enabling the remaining hostages to be released, the bodies of deceased hostages to be returned alongside the release of Palestinian detainees, and allowing Palestinians to return home. However, it is impossible to overstate how much devastation the people of Gaza have suffered over the past two years, and how much they continue to suffer. Almost everyone has been displaced, often multiple times. Loved ones have been killed. The people have faced starvation, a famine across Gaza, the risk of disease and the decimation of the healthcare system. Now they are returning home and finding only piles of rubble on the streets where they once lived.

There is an urgent need for humanitarian aid at scale to reach Gaza now, and every week and every month for the foreseeable future. There is an urgent need for food, medicine, shelter and blankets as we enter the winter months, and for the restoration of infrastructure, water supplies, communications, schools and healthcare facilities. This situation is not the result of a natural disaster, nor was it unavoidable; it is the result of the relentless bombardment of civilians, schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure; the two-year restriction by the Israeli Government on humanitarian aid into Gaza at anything close to the scale that was needed; and the forced displacement of people from their homes and their land.

As we speak of reconstruction and humanitarian obligations, we must also speak of the need for justice and accountability under international law. The need to drive forward the humanitarian response and reconstruction is urgent, but that urgency cannot mean that the question of accountability for the many breaches of international humanitarian law by the Israeli Government and Hamas in Gaza, and by the Israeli Government in the west bank over the past two years, is forgotten.

Can the Minister update the House on the UK Government’s approach to justice and accountability in relation to the conflict in Gaza? What engagement has he had with the US, the UN and other partners on this issue, and how confident is he that, under the current plans, the question of accountability is not being dismissed? It is important that legal obligations are the starting point for the situation in Gaza. The ICJ determined in an advisory opinion in October 2025 that Israel, as an occupying power, has

“a general obligation to administer the territory for the benefit of the local population.”

It is really important that the failure to discharge that obligation does not become normalised.

[Tahir Ali]

Does my hon. Friend agree with me that aid should not be at the behest or the permission of the Israeli Government, and that the international community should come together to make sure that that is not the case?

[Helen Hayes]

I agree with my hon. Friend that we need unfettered access to aid in Gaza. I turn my attention now to the current humanitarian crisis. The ceasefire has restored the distribution of aid to the UN, which is best placed to undertake that complex task and should never have been forced to stop operating in that role. The situation remains desperate and there is still not unimpeded access. For example, there is a significant problem with getting tents for basic shelter into Gaza because of Israeli Government restrictions. Winter is fast approaching and there has been flooding in parts of Gaza. Tents are urgently needed for basic shelter. There is also an urgent need to restore the healthcare system to provide services to a population whose health is fragile in so many ways, and there is a particular need for healthcare services for women, because approximately 130 babies are born every day in Gaza in conditions of acute risk.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

We all agree on the need to get aid urgently into Gaza now. Research from famine in world war two shows the lasting impact of famine, even on unborn foetuses; it cannot later be erased or reversed. Famine can also lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Does the hon. Member agree that Israel must allow the unrestricted passage of aid not just to mitigate the devastation that we see now, but to prevent the severe consequences that will stretch long into the future?

[Helen Hayes]

I agree with everything that the hon. Member said. It is vital that such badly needed aid is allowed to enter Gaza unrestricted, and that we recognise that that process will need to continue for the foreseeable future because the situation is so desperate and the recovery will be long. But the recovery cannot begin without that unfettered access. There are only 15 health facilities in Gaza able to provide maternity and obstetric care. Mothers are giving birth without anaesthesia or essential drugs.

Alongside the healthcare system in Gaza, the education system has also been largely destroyed. Children in Gaza have been traumatised by the conflict. Their psychosocial recovery is a really important part of achieving long-term peace and stability. They also have a right to education. Children in Gaza are desperate to return to school and the UN is working hard to restore education services, but the current ceasefire agreement and 20-point plan are silent on the subject of education, allowing it to be deprioritised. The Israeli Government’s co-ordinator of government activities in the territories states that all school supplies are currently banned from entry to Gaza. UNRWA submitted self-learning materials to COGAT for approval in July 2024. It acknowledges that the question of textbooks and content is controversial, but those supplies have not been approved and all basic materials, including basic stationery supplies, are currently being denied.

[Iqbal Mohamed]

Does the hon. Lady agree that Israel, the perpetrator of the genocide, should not be the one deciding what aid is allowed into Gaza?

[Helen Hayes]

As I said, I agree that aid should be allowed into Gaza unfettered. That should be administered by the UN and by aid agencies that are well able to determine with Palestinians what supplies are needed.

Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable to deny the children of Gaza their right to education, and that it is vital that a way forward is found for education materials to be allowed into Gaza, along with supplies for psychosocial kits, so that children can begin the long process of recovery? Over the last two years, we have witnessed the destruction of the entire education system in Gaza—97% of all schools have sustained some level of damage. That is happening not only in Gaza, but in the west bank.

I have stood in the ruins of two schools destroyed by violent settlers in the west bank. Those attacks have been perpetrated by a UN member state that has not yet signed the safe schools declaration, which has been signed by both the UK and the Palestinian Authority. On the eve of the fifth international conference on the safe schools declaration, which takes place in Nairobi tomorrow and marks 10 years since the declaration’s inception, I call on the Minister to exert pressure on the Israeli Government to join the declaration and commit to refrain from causing further damage to education facilities in Gaza and the west bank.

Recovery is a long road, and the ceasefire is fragile. The process must start with the different parties coming together to protect education, to respect the rights of children and to ensure that there is unfettered access for all the supplies needed to sustain that recovery.

18:01

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for leading this debate, and the people who signed the petition, of which there were 285 from Norwich North. As many Members have said, this is an important and timely debate because, although a ceasefire is now in place, there continues to be a devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Although I welcome the ceasefire and the release of the hostages, there is a long way to go to ensure that the peace is sustainable and the unimaginable human suffering ends. As we have heard, Israeli authorities continue to restrict humanitarian supplies going into Gaza, leading to a devastating shortage of food, medicine and lifesaving supplies. UN agencies have warned that the level of food assistance is still below what is needed, and they have called for more to be let in. That comes, of course, after years of conflict and a human toll that is unimaginable for many of us.

Many Members have touched on this, but I want to focus my remarks on the impact on women and girls. That is particularly timely, given that tomorrow is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and this year marks 25 years since the agreement of the landmark UN resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Yet 25 years on, we are failing women and girls not only in Gaza, but in Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and many other places. We should also recognise the devastating impact of the 7 October attacks on women, with many horrific reports. There must be accountability and no impunity for violence against women and girls, wherever it is found.

In Gaza, the crisis has had a devastating impact on all civilians, as we have heard, but women and girls have been disproportionately and uniquely affected in many ways. They make up 67% of the estimated 60,000 Palestinians killed. Health services have basically collapsed, meaning that women struggle to access sexual and reproductive health services.

As we have heard, that has a catastrophic impact on pregnant women. The UN estimates that 55,000 pregnant women have nowhere to seek medical help. Approximately 130 babies are born every day in conditions of acute risk, and one in five are born prematurely or suffering from complications. Let us imagine what should be one of the happiest times of someone’s life, but all they can do is hope and pray for the future of their baby, with no guarantee of good healthcare or essential medicines.

There are stories of mothers giving birth without anaesthesia or essential drugs, and reports of rising maternal and newborn deaths—and as the weather changes, that will get even worse. We know that the blockade has also produced human-made famine conditions in parts of Gaza, with catastrophic consequences for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children. We know from evidence around the world that women and girls eat last and least in conflict. In conflict, violence and sexual violence surge, yet support services and legal services collapse. The chance of justice fades to barely even a glimmer.

Despite the dire situation, we must not see women and girls as only victims; they are also first responders and leaders. As ActionAid has rightly highlighted, Palestinian women and women’s rights organisations continue to lead humanitarian responses and community support, providing vital services, yet their work is far too often under-resourced and under-recognised.

That leads me on to what the UK and other Governments can and must do. First, diplomacy must remain a top priority to ensure the unfettered access for humanitarian aid and to uphold our obligations under international law. As a former member of the International Development Committee, I agree with its report from earlier this year—as referenced by my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran—that said we must lead on international humanitarian law. There is a gap for a nation state to lead on that, and the UK has a chance to fill it.

Secondly, we must prioritise long-term funding for humanitarian aid and ensure that a significant proportion of the aid we are delivering goes to women’s rights organisations. I ask the Minister to respond specifically to that point in his response: how are we tracking where our aid is going and whether it is reaching those grassroots women’s organisations on the frontline?

As the current chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the United Nations, I want to emphasise the important work of UNFPA—the United Nations Population Fund—which does vital work providing healthcare and safe spaces for women and girls. It is suffering from reductions in foreign aid from many countries, particularly the US, which is turning away from it. I hope that as we make difficult decisions about where our aid goes, we will continue to speak up and support its vital work.

We have also heard from many Members about the importance of UNRWA, which is no traditional aid agency. It effectively provides many functions akin to local government in the country, and it is vital to getting aid to people on the ground. I welcome the fact that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has paused its work on the ground, because the way that it was delivering aid went against all humanitarian principles. I hope that that pause remains in place and that it ceases to operate.

Thirdly, in line with UN resolution 1325, women must be meaningfully involved in peacebuilding processes and post-war recovery. The evidence is clear that peace processes last longer when women are involved, as we have seen in other contexts such as Liberia. Ensuring that women are at the table and have a voice is therefore not only the right thing to do, but in all our interests.

Lastly, it is welcome that the UK has a national action plan on women, peace and security—which was, in fact, drawn up under the last Government. I believe that Palestine is not currently a focus country for that, so I ask the Government to consider adding it and to work to ensure that Palestinian women and girls receive the same protections as women in other conflict contexts.

There are many other areas that I could have spoken about in this debate, and many Members have touched on them, but the impact on women and girls is one that we must not ignore, and that, sadly, is too often not spoken about. I know that upholding the rights of women and girls is something that the Foreign Secretary is strongly committed to—indeed, she published a piece today expressing the UK’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls in particular—so I look forward to the Minister setting out how we will work to stand with women and girls in Gaza and beyond. This ceasefire is an important step forward, but it must lead to real change, to a two-state solution and to a just and lasting peace for Palestinians, Israelis and the whole region.

18:07

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell), and others, for setting out the context of the modern-day moral outrage that is the plight of the people of Gaza. Gaza may have disappeared from the headlines and TV screens, but the suffering continues for many, and neither I nor my constituents in Rochdale will allow the Palestinian people to be forgotten this winter, or any winter.

Yes, the ceasefire brokered by the United States and others was undeniably welcome—finally, we are seeing the deceased and living hostages returned, prisoners released and the bombing abating—but, for more than two years, innocent Palestinians have endured the destruction of their homes, the tearing apart of their communities, and a relentless assault on their basic humanity and dignity. Now, as the winter rains fall upon their battered land, the misery deepens.

As has been said, camps have become swamps; families who once had roofs over their heads now huddle in mud and fetid water, some of it sewage water; and more than a quarter of a million people are in desperate need of emergency tents and tarpaulins. The skies may be quieter and the airstrikes fewer, but the silent killers of disease and deprivation stalk the land of Palestine. I ask the Minister, what are the United Kingdom Government doing to ensure that those emergency shelters reach Palestinians without delay?

How will the new Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre be used to compel Israel to open the floodgates to the aid that Gaza so desperately needs? As many have said, UNRWA has been clear that Gaza remains in a catastrophic state, despite the ceasefire. Israel continues to block international staff and to choke the entry of aid: 6,000 aid trucks stand idle at the crossings—6,000 trucks that could feed hungry mouths, clothe children, and bring medicine to the sick. Some 90% of Gaza’s population now survive entirely on aid and families scrape by on one meal a day but, still, just 170 trucks are allowed in, far below the minimum required for basic survival.

As has been said, as well as the scandal of the lack of food, the children of Gaza suffer gravely from a lack of education. UNRWA struggles to provide schooling for 300,000 students remotely and 50,000 in person, under intolerable conditions. Some 44,000 Palestinian children sit in makeshift learning spaces, often on cold floors without chairs. Their sense of security—their very childhood—is being eroded every single day. When I visited the west bank earlier this year, one of the most shocking sights was the ruins of a Palestinian school building in Zanuta that had been attacked by Israeli settlers. The trashed primary school desks, the maps ripped off the walls, the wrecked life chances—they will remain with me and many other parliamentarians who attended for a very long time, and all with zero accountability for the perpetrators.

Education lies in ruins. Satellite imagery shows that 93% of Gaza’s schools have been directly hit or damaged—that is 526 out of 564 buildings destroyed or requiring reconstruction. In north Gaza and Rafah, every single school building has been hit. What kind of army bombs schools?

[Tahir Ali]

My hon. Friend is eloquently making an important point. Does he agree that the suffering of Palestinian people is not collateral? It is deliberate on the part of the Israeli Government, and the UK must act. History is being recorded, and we cannot sit and watch things happen as they have been for the past two years. We must act immediately to stop the terrible suffering and atrocities that we are being told about.

[Paul Waugh]

I agree with my hon. Friend. There must be accountability for Israel’s actions—for its sins of omission as much as those of commission.

Is the UK pushing for education to be a key part of the peace plan? As Members have said, it has been singularly missing so far. Nearly 200,000 people signed the e-petition that brought us here today, making it one of the largest petitions of this Parliament, as has been said. In Rochdale alone, 283 constituents added their name. This is not a fringe concern; it is a mainstream demand for justice.

[Mr Adnan Hussain]

May I add that 603 people from Blackburn also signed the petition? Every Friday, my constituents come out in the cold, the heat or the rain—whatever the climate—to remember the people of Gaza. I remind the House, the Minister and the Government that this is the first livestreamed genocide, and people will not forget it easily. They will continue to press us, as their representatives, and the Government until this catastrophe comes to an end.

[Paul Waugh]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. Yes, this is a grassroots, people-led campaign, as the petition shows.

There has been progress in November: expanded food rations; a catch-up immunisation campaign that vaccinated 13,000 children; the distribution of high-performance tents to learning spaces, at least in Khan Yunis; bread prices that are beginning to fall thanks to the World Food Programme; and households reporting two meals a day instead of one. But that is not enough—nowhere near enough.

The challenges remain immense. Heavy rains have affected 13,000 households directly; hundreds of tents have collapsed; fuel shortages mean that half the population still burns waste to cook; infrastructure lies in ruins; and aid convoys are always blocked at Rafah, where they should not be, denied at Kerem Shalom and turned away at hospitals in the north. UNRWA has food parcels for 1.1 million people, flour for 2.1 million and shelter supplies for 1.3 million pre-positioned outside Gaza, but Israel refuses to let it in.

I say again that for too many Palestinians, the ceasefire is a fiction. Between 12 and 19 November, the most recent data available, eight Palestinians were killed and 41 injured, with 18 bodies pulled from the rubble. As we all know, the toll since 7 October 2023 now stands at 69,513 dead and 170,745 injured. Even after the ceasefire, 280 people have been killed and 672 injured, and 571 bodies retrieved. What kind of ceasefire is this when the killing continues?

Let us not forget that many ordinary Israelis want peace. Many Israeli human rights groups, civil society organisations such as B’Tselem, and others, are being targeted by Netanyahu’s Government. They know that, without full rights for Palestinians and full statehood, there will never be genuine security for them or other Israelis.

This is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a moral crisis. It is a test of our values as a nation. We must have urgent action to open all the crossings, lift the restrictions and flood Gaza with aid at long last. We must keep up progress for a two-state solution, with peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians side by side. Speaking of a two-state solution, it was particularly sickening this month to see the Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir taunting in prison the one man who many Palestinians see as the Mandela of the middle east: Marwan Barghouti. I had the privilege of meeting his son when I was in Jerusalem earlier this year. Does the Minister agree that Marwan Barghouti has a key role to play in a lasting peace for the region?

The Government have rightly recognised that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains desperate. As the Middle East Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), has confirmed, in the financial year 2025-26, the UK will provide more than £100 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, prioritising humanitarian relief, economic development and strengthening the Palestinian Authority. Those are important commitments, but commitments must be backed by delivery. The people of Gaza cry out for shelter, food, education and dignity. The petitioners cry out for action, and history will cry out for accountability.

The Labour Government have made an historic step in recognising the state of Palestine—something no other British Government have done before. We need similarly bold moves on aid. Let us ensure that Britain is remembered for solidarity and political courage. Let us press Israel to open all crossings, demand the entry of aid, support UNRWA in its vital work and, above all, work for a genuine ceasefire that stops the killing, allows rebuilding and restores hope for a two-state solution. Without hope and real justice, there can be no lasting peace in the middle east.

18:17

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing this debate, and I thank hon. Members for their interesting, and sometimes heartbreaking, contributions this evening.

Once upon a time, a third of the globe was pink, signifying lands that were part of the British empire. Of course, some will say that empire was a civilising force—a moral and noble mission, even—but there are others, like me, who say that those who defend imperialism are attempting to justify the exploitation of people and resources, and airbrushing from history the violence committed with the aim of expanding British capitalist influence across the globe.

To analyse accurately the current dire humanitarian situation in Palestine, it is only right to acknowledge, first, Britain’s historical role in the region; secondly, Britain’s current role; and thirdly, ongoing imperialism and its indivisible relationship with capitalism. Britain owes a historical debt to the Palestinian people. With the Balfour declaration, the British mandate of 1922 to 1948, and the confiscation of land and the suppression of freedom and human rights that followed, Britain paved the way for today’s apartheid living conditions. Now, our current role is to perpetuate and normalise the ongoing occupation and colonisation of Palestine. I am afraid that Britain cannot truthfully say that we are fulfilling our humanitarian obligations when we continue to sell arms to a state that commits genocide.

We are in the scandalous position where we train IDF soldiers—soldiers of an army that commits war crimes. We will not tell our people what we are facilitating from RAF Akrotiri, hiding behind the veil of national security and secrecy. The military support we continue to give Israel makes a mockery of our humanitarian obligations. By continuing to trade with Netanyahu’s murderous regime, we serve to boost their economy. Netanyahu’s Government have, by design, crippled the Palestinian economy by impacting its ability to trade, thus making Palestinians reliant on Israel for goods, for produce and ultimately for survival. Israel consistently uses economic terrorism as a tool of subjugation. The reality is that there is a concerted effort to normalise Palestinians’ reliance on Israel as the provider of life-saving aid while making it near impossible for Palestinians to be self-sufficient.

As well as that collective punishment of Palestinians, another goal of the broader plan is to impose capitalism through the imperial project that the Israeli Government promote, wilfully aided by western democracies. Let us look at what has happened to Palestinian agriculture. Israel has seized farmland, killed crops, destroyed livestock, stopped farmers from trading and prevented their produce from reaching markets by erecting roadblocks. That has led to mass unemployment as farms have become unsustainable. It has reduced agriculture to around 4% of Palestine’s GDP; once it was 52%. By continuing to trade with Israel, we are complicit in the ongoing colonisation of Palestine, and in making Palestinians reliant on Israel.

What of education as a method of improving Palestinians’ life chances? We are fortunate in this country to consider such education a right, not a privilege. A fortnight ago, I was in the west bank. I heard about the slow strangulation of education. Israel continues to segregate Palestinian education by way of armed checkpoints: roadblocks that stop children and students from going to school, college or university in the west bank. Meanwhile, in Gaza, school often consists of teachers taking classes in tents, which are used as makeshift classrooms because schools have been relentlessly bombed. In trying to fragment and ultimately eradicate education, Israel is trying to suppress Palestinian national identity and suppress the ability of people to organise and resist the occupation of their land. By allowing that to happen, Britain and others are not fulfilling humanitarian obligations.

We all know that there are players in the international community who will always strive to maintain a capitalist and imperialist agenda at the expense of humanitarian needs. The stark truth is that Britain is both complicit in and guilty of that. Parliamentarians often try to convince themselves and others that Britain is doing everything that it can, that we are on the side of humanity, and that we are decent people, part of a civilised society. But I am sorry, if anyone really thinks that Britain is achieving that—actually doing what is right, and doing everything that we possibly can—then they are either blind or an obedient fool.

18:23

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Butler. Some 18 years ago I was your researcher, so it is nice that you have not shown favouritism and have called me at the end of the debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of my constituents in Stratford and Bow, over 1,000 of whom signed the petition calling for this debate. That puts us in the top 10 constituencies in the country by number of signatories. Many hundreds more of my constituents have written to me about Palestine in the past few months alone, and it has consistently remained the top issue in my inbox since I was elected.

After two long and brutal years of unrelenting suffering and bombardment, the ceasefire has come as a welcome relief to millions of Palestinians. I know it is a moment that many hon. Members in this Chamber have long called for. I was in the west bank earlier this year, and I know how perilous the past two years have been for Palestinians—not just those in Gaza but those in the west bank. We speak of a ceasefire, but this weekend Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 22 Palestinians, bringing the total to over 300 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire came into force—that includes two children killed every single day.

Even during the ceasefire, Israeli authorities continue to thwart humanitarian access and block aid. As we have heard, there are devastating shortages of food, medicine and lifesaving supplies, which have spent months sitting in warehouses. We have seen Israeli authorities denying and delaying nearly a million bottles of baby formula for infants born into famine, and denying the entry of syringes needed to protect the 20% of toddlers in Gaza who have not been vaccinated against polio, measles or pneumonia. Families are facing extreme food shortages and Gaza’s health system is collapsing, leaving children without care. We have heard today how stark conditions are as winter is drawing in and tents offer little to no shelter.

Humanitarian aid should never be politicised. There is absolutely no justification for the restrictions on vital humanitarian assistance. Yet, when there are attempts to deliver such assistance, Israeli authorities claim they only block items that might have a dual use or some potential military purpose. What defence risk is there to vaccinating babies? What possible military use could there be for newborn formula? UNRWA says that enough aid to feed the entire Gazan population for three months is waiting in warehouses. It is ready to enter, yet it is still not permitted in. Earlier this year, I met the Jordanian delegation, who told me that tonnes of aid are sitting in trucks on its borders, not allowed in.

At the time of the ceasefire, UNICEF alone had 1,300 trucks sitting ready to bring in tents, nutrition, water and sanitation supplies. It also provides education and recreational kits for children: items such as balls, board games, chalk and skipping ropes—none of which have been allowed into Gaza for months. Those children are already facing the harsh and devastating consequences of war, which will live with them for their lifetimes. What military function does a game of snakes and ladders have? What possible threat is there to Israeli forces from a Palestinian child playing football?

The so-called Gaza Humanitarian Fund was a system unable—or perhaps unwilling—to distinguish between military threats and humanitarian aid, between weapons and toys. It cannot be a model for future aid delivery. Only an impartial humanitarian regime can deliver relief and dignity for the people of Gaza. As this ceasefire is consolidated and the peace plan developed, it is essential that we see unfettered access to humanitarian assistance and a recommitment to humanitarian principles. I join hon. Members across the House, including those who have spoken today, in calling on the UK Government to support the restoration of an independent and neutral humanitarian scheme capable of delivering aid safely, effectively and at scale. I echo the call to the Minister to clarify the critical objectives of ensuring that British aid charities, such as Medical Aid for Palestinians and Oxfam, can operate freely and without restrictions in Gaza, with unhindered entry for their staff and medical teams and the ability to take in humanitarian supplies.

We owe it to the Palestinian people not to look away from the devastation, but to bear witness to what has been inflicted on them. We owe it to them to bear witness to this history, to this ongoing genocide, but also to continue to ensure that Britain plays its full part in the humanitarian assistance and rebuilding of Gaza.

18:28

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. This is an important and timely debate. I thank colleagues for their powerful contributions. I also thank the petitioners, including 479 of my own constituents in Esher and Walton, and those who have written to me about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Two years of brutal war have unleashed unimaginable suffering. The ceasefire may have quietened the shelling, but it has not rebuilt homes, recovered food supplies or restored the basic systems needed to sustain life. Violations continue on both sides and the reality on the ground remains desperate. After an estimated 70,000 deaths, a million people are sheltering in overcrowded, unsafe displacement sites, some without shelter, and the entire population is in humanitarian need. Food, water and healthcare networks have broken down. Famine conditions persist in northern areas, driven directly by the obstruction of humanitarian access. Clean water is scarce, disease is spreading and hospitals across the strip are shut or barely functioning.

The atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023 were abhorrent; the violations they have continued to commit, even after the ceasefire, are abhorrent and a complete breach of international humanitarian law. The deliberate murder of civilians, the abduction of hostages and the refusal to release the remaining deceased hostages are all blatant violations of international humanitarian law. But let me be absolutely clear: what we are seeing in Gaza today is the horrific consequence of the laws of war being treated as optional.

International humanitarian law exists to shield civilians from the worst excesses of war. All parties have a legal and moral duty to uphold it. The International Court of Justice has again confirmed Israel’s binding duty, as the occupying power, to guarantee effective humanitarian access. International humanitarian law in Gaza has been breached and disregarded over the past two years. Aid should never have been prevented from entering Gaza. Gaza now needs hundreds of aid trucks every day to meet basic survival needs, but only a fraction reach their destination. Barely half of UN humanitarian missions have been permitted to proceed. That is completely unacceptable.

We were meant to see the scale-up of humanitarian assistance, but some £50 million-worth of international non-governmental organisation relief sits outside the crossing, unable to enter. Aid agencies warn that, without fully opening all land crossings and guaranteeing predictable access, genuine humanitarian recovery will remain impossible. Thousands need urgent medical evacuation, but only a tiny number have been evacuated since the ceasefire. Winter will make an already dire situation even worse.

Several crossings are open for limited humanitarian cargo, but the volumes allowed through fall far short of basic needs. The vital crossing point at Rafah remains closed, blocking civilian movement entirely, while key internal routes, especially into northern Gaza, are still restricted. We must also acknowledge that some aid has been diverted or obstructed by Hamas, further undermining humanitarian efforts and deepening civilian suffering. Humanitarian access must never be a bargaining chip, never subordinated to political agendas and never used to engineer local governance outcomes. Its neutrality is the only thing that ensures the protection of civilians.

International organisations such as the World Food Programme have been absolutely clear that they have the food, the staff and the systems ready to deliver at full scale. They now need a ceasefire that genuinely upholds and guarantees uninterrupted humanitarian access. With sustained, predictable access, the WFP can feed up to 1.6 million people for three months, and start restoring Gaza’s food systems and dignity through digital payments.

Donations to Gaza have fallen sharply since the October ceasefire, creating a catastrophic funding gap just as winter arrives, and leaving millions facing hunger, illness and collapsing infrastructure. Since the ceasefire, the UK has provided only £24 million in additional humanitarian aid for Gaza, while UN member states have met just 37% of the $4 billion sought under the 2025 flash appeal to support the 3 million people across Gaza and the west bank. That comes on top of the wider decision to slash overseas aid to its lowest level this century, with funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories falling sharply; it is 21% smaller than it was last year.

Countries such as Germany and Ireland are stepping up with more serious humanitarian leadership and have shown greater urgency. The UK should do the same. Our people are no less generous than theirs. The British care deeply about Gaza, as shown by this petition. At a moment like this, Britain should also be at the vanguard of diplomatic efforts.

The Government must engage proactively with our international partners. Will the Minister tell us what conversations the UK is currently having with the Israeli Government to get aid in, and what conversations it is having with the United States, our European allies and other like-minded partners to secure unhindered humanitarian access into Gaza? What diplomatic conversations are under way to ensure that all parties comply with international law and allow aid to reach civilians without obstruction?

It is vital that UN agencies are not scapegoated or weakened at the very moment when they are most needed. The UK must be unequivocal: we stand with the UN system, including UNRWA; removing it without a viable alternative will plunge millions deeper into crisis. We cannot allow humanitarian agencies to be dismantled in the middle of a catastrophe.

The Liberal Democrats believe that Britain must reclaim its humanitarian leadership. I therefore urge the Minister to take the following steps. First, the Government should restore the legally enshrined target to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. Doing so would restore the UK’s ability to deliver lifesaving assistance at the scale required. Can the Minister assure us that there will be no further cuts to official development assistance in the autumn Budget or thereafter? Will he confirm whether he intends to go beyond the £24 million pledged to Gaza since the ceasefire?

Secondly, the Government should ensure that lifesaving humanitarian aid flows freely into Gaza. They must use every diplomatic channel to secure the full opening of land crossings, predictable UN approvals, the restoration of Rafah for civilian movement and an end to the unlawful restrictions that breach international humanitarian law and violate ICJ orders. How do the UK Government plan to engage with the Israeli authorities to ensure neutral, UN-led humanitarian delivery, free from political interference, and to press for all land crossings, including Rafah, to be fully opened so that aid can reach those who need it? Have the Government raised the new registration restrictions with the Israeli authorities? If so, what specific assurances have they sought to ensure that no more barriers are created to the work of international NGOs?

Thirdly, should access continue to be denied, the UK must work with international partners to secure alternative delivery channels. Britain must co-ordinate pressure for sustained access to all crossings, while scaling up alternative routes in parallel. That requires pressing the US and Israeli authorities to open the crossings and urging the United States and partners in the region to use their influence to secure predictable humanitarian access. Fourthly, the Government must continue to push for a lasting two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.

Those on all sides must be held accountable for war crimes. While we hold our breath on Gaza, violence and restrictions in the west bank have escalated sharply. The situation is deeply alarming and continues to deteriorate. More than 1.2 million people there need assistance, around 40,000 are displaced and more than 200 Palestinians, including around 50 children, have been killed this year, alongside Israeli casualties from attacks. Large-scale Israeli operations, ongoing demolitions and severe movement restrictions are driving further displacement and disruption. Settler violence remains at crisis levels, with repeated attacks damaging homes, mosques and vehicles and further eroding livelihoods. I ask the Government to end all trade with illegal west bank settlements and insist on full humanitarian access and protection for Palestinian civilians across the west bank.

The situation in Gaza is a moral disaster, one made worse by deliberate choices. This is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Britain must lead with aid, with diplomacy, with integrity and with urgency to ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld, that civilians are protected and that this country is remembered as one that chose to act, not one that chose to look away.

18:38

[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)]

Thank you, Ms Butler, and Ms McVey before you, for chairing the debate; it has been a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. I also thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for bringing this debate to the House on behalf of the vast numbers of people—198,966—who signed e-petition 700682. I have listened to the debate carefully. I have been moved by the passion and the deeply held, sincere concern heard from Members on both sides of the House.

No human being should be subject to the kind of inhumane treatment that we have all seen in Gaza in recent times. I hope and believe that everyone in this Chamber, whether we completely agree or not, wants the same outcome: to see peace and stability returned, and to see women, children and others who have suffered living in peace and returning to normal life. We all want to see that, whatever our opinions.

I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have spoken this afternoon. Of course, I am always moved by the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), and I listen avidly whenever he speaks—we do not agree on much, but we do agree on some things. I also want to thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal), who spoke earlier. We share the same part of Essex and east London, and our constituents have similar views on many issues. I will not refer to everyone who spoke this afternoon, but I thank them all.

Speaking on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition, let me firmly put on record our support for President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. As I said during the Foreign Secretary’s statement last week, the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2803 represents a major step towards restoring order, security and a pathway to peace. I sincerely hope that prosperity and peace will be returned for all the people of Gaza as a result. The United States has brought leadership, and the United Kingdom must stand shoulder to shoulder with our closest allies, especially the United States and Israel, if we are to have any hope of ending this conflict and building something better.

Since becoming shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have not had the opportunity to speak on this subject, as other shadow Ministers have spoken instead of me. I would like to put on record that I have always believed that Hamas—an Iranian satellite and a terrorist organisation responsible for atrocity upon atrocity, culminating in 7 October—can play no part whatsoever in the future governance of Gaza, let alone in civilised global politics. I am glad that many Members have said things along those lines this afternoon. Hamas’s contempt for human life and dignity is matched only by what appears to be their absolute hatred of Israel and the Jewish people and, from what I can see, the wider free world.

We have nothing in common with Hamas. Their repeated rejection of peace proposals, their game-playing over the release of deceased hostages and their brutal campaign of summary executions against Palestinian civilians tell us everything we need to know.

[Iqbal Mohamed]

Does the shadow Minister agree that we in this place can and should condemn all acts of horror, terrorism and injustice anywhere and everywhere, whether it is Hamas or Israel perpetrating them?

[Andrew Rosindell]

I hate what I have seen on our television screens for more than two years. I condemn all unwarranted acts of violence—self-defence, we understand. We are deeply sad to see what is happening. We all want to see an end to this, so I absolutely respect the hon. Gentleman’s position and agree with him.

However, Hamas seek only chaos. They are completely uninterested in co-existence with Israel. I understand the strength of feeling expressed by the petitioners and many Members present this afternoon. No one can fail to be moved by the scale of suffering endured by innocent Palestinians. However, any approach that sidelines Israel will do nothing to get aid over the borders. All crossings, with the exception of Rafah, border Israel, so there has to be co-operation with Israel to get aid into Palestine. I believe that the UK must work with Israel to ensure that aid is flowing through the crossings effectively, safely and securely. Last week, the Foreign Secretary mentioned that she is working with her Israeli counterparts on the reopening of certain crossings into Gaza. What are the Government proposing specifically for each of the individual crossing points? I am sure that the Minister will answer that question later.

The shadow Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), is visiting Israel at the moment. She is seeing for herself the humanitarian aid operation at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where trucks have been crossing into Gaza with aid supplies from Israel, the World Food Programme and partners in the region such as the United Arab Emirates. Maybe not all aid is getting through, but a lot of it is. She has also met with COGAT, and I believe she is the first British parliamentarian to visit the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre, where she met with General Frank, who is heading up the operations to implement the 20-point plan. That shows the importance that the Conservatives place on the ceasefire, ensuring that humanitarian aid gets into Gaza and ensuring that Hamas is eliminated, so that the region can have the promise of a more peaceful and secure future.

The CMCC and COGAT are focused on getting 4,200 aid trucks into Gaza each week. Can the Minister confirm that this level of humanitarian assistance is getting through? Does he recognise the aid supply figures from COGAT? Does he agree with those figures? We often hear Ministers quote the UN figures, but will the Minister tell us whether he accepts that COGAT efforts are bringing in thousands of trucks of humanitarian aid a week, including vital winterisation supplies? Will the Minister also tell the House whether he or the Foreign Secretary have any plans to follow in the footsteps of the shadow Foreign Secretary by visiting the CMCC and meeting with COGAT? If they have not done so already, it is vital that they do so soon, given where we are in the plans.

The previous Government did everything in their power to increase humanitarian access. Working with allies, they secured commitments from the Government of Israel to open Erez crossing and the port of Ashdod to get aid into Gaza. Israel also agreed to extend the opening hours of the Kerem Shalom crossing point, and we were able to achieve commitments to increase the number of trucks entering Gaza. For a period, we saw an increase in the quantity of aid delivered. The United Kingdom supplied vital food and medical aid for innocent Palestinians. With the help of the UN and Cyprus, we managed to secure infrastructure, including the floating pier off the coast, to help get aid into the territory. I respect the fact that this is an immensely complicated and tragic situation, but the Government need to focus on practical and even novel solutions for getting around the bottlenecks.

Regarding UNRWA, we must not forget that it had to fire nine staff after investigations into their involvement in the appalling attack on Israel on 7 October. The testimony of Emily Damari about the location of her captivity is incredibly serious. UNRWA must sever all links to the Hamas terrorist group. It is critical that UN bodies ensure adequate vetting of personnel and activities, and that Catherine Colonna’s reforms be fully implemented as soon as possible. I hope the Minister will accept that Hamas has been using aid as a weapon by stealing and hoarding it, preventing Gazans from receiving it, and then profiteering from its sale. That is wholly unacceptable. What constructive steps are the Government taking with international partners to address aid diversion?

At the heart of President Trump’s peace plan is the establishment of an international stabilisation force. The United Kingdom has world-class peacekeeping, policing and stabilisation expertise. Will the Minister confirm that British expertise will not be wasted and that we have a plan to support the creation of that force alongside our allies? Does he have a view on what the ISF operating parameters should be? Does he think that it should move into the red zone? On the rebuilding of Gaza, what actions is the UK taking to support the establishment of alternative safe communities?

It is widely acknowledged that if the current ceasefire is to turn into a sustainable end to the conflict, Hamas must be removed from power and their terrorist infrastructure dismantled. What we need to hear today is how the Government intend to work with regional partners—Israel, Egypt, the UAE and the emerging Palestinian security structures—to achieve that essential objective. We also need to hear that Britain will play its part in creating security, peace and stability, and give the people of Palestine, Israel and the whole region hope for the future.

18:51

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate. I want to thank every hon. Member who has spoken with such clarity and conviction.

I was asked a number of questions over two and a half hours. If hon. Members will permit me, I intend to make a brief statement about the humanitarian situation before taking any interventions. I know that the voices in this Chamber echo the deep concern felt across the country—concern so strong that nearly 200,000 people signed the petition that brought us here today, including many of my own constituents in Lincoln. I know that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) says, this is not at all a fringe concern—it is on the minds of constituents represented by all of us, right across the country.

The ceasefire was achieved with great difficulty and in the face of great danger. It must hold. We must confront the humanitarian catastrophe that continues in Gaza. We must see the bodies of the hostages returned to their grieving families and move quickly from phase 1 to phase 2—reconstruction and recovery—to rebuild shattered lives. As we take peace plans forward, we must not lose focus on the catastrophic humanitarian situation. More than 69,000 people have lost their lives since October 2023. Tens of thousands have been wounded, most of them women and children, and over 90% of the population remains displaced. Our immediate priority must be aid—rapid, sustained and unrestricted. The international system can deliver at scale, but that is not happening on the ground.

As we speak, vital equipment and field hospitals are waiting just miles away, blocked by red tape. Winter, as many contributions have made clear, is closing in, and displaced families need shelter and basic services restored. The Israeli authorities must open all crossings without delay, and aid agencies and NGOs must be able to operate freely across the whole of Gaza. Restrictions on UNRWA and other UN agencies must be lifted. The system and the supplies exist. I was pleased to hear other colleagues who have seen them in el-Arish—as I have. The will in the UK exists. If the ceasefire and the 20-point plan are to succeed, the political block on aid must end.

I understand the frustration my colleagues expressed tonight. Let me reassure the House that the Government are doing all they can to support the ceasefire and get aid into Gaza. We have allocated £78 million for humanitarian and recovery support this year, including £20 million for water, sanitation and hygiene services. Over the past two years, we have restored funding to UNRWA and provided nearly £250 million in development assistance. I was challenged on whether that has made any difference to individuals in Gaza—it is 439,000 people who have received essential health care, 647,000 who have received food and over 300,000 who have gained access to clean water and sanitation.

Many hon. Members rightly challenged me and the Government to consider the individuals at the heart of this, rather than the numbers. I was in Yemen last week and saw a malnourished child in front of me at one of the healthcare clinics that we are supporting. The sight of a severely malnourished 11-month-old baby is a truly arresting one. It is a reminder to me, as I know it is to everyone in this House, that there are thousands of such children in Gaza.

We must do everything we can to ensure that the ceasefire holds and that the aid gets in. We have deployed UK advisers to the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre to help to co-ordinate reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. In total, we are providing £116 million this year for humanitarian aid, economic development and strengthening PA governance and reform.

[Alice Macdonald]

I thank the Minister for giving way and for the speech he is making. It was announced today that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is ceasing operations. It was said that the GHF has shared lessons with the CMCC. Does the Minister think that it is important that we learn what not to do in delivering aid? We have seen that the best way to do that is through recognised organisations such as the UN. Will the Minister comment on the GHF statement today?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important contribution. I have been absolutely clear throughout that the GHF was no way to deliver aid. The cost to the people of Gaza was absolutely clear from the grim images of its operation that we saw day in and day out. It has always been the case that a system exists in order to provide aid across Gaza. It is not a perfect system, and where there are abuses of that system, they need to be investigated—I am very glad to hear from our partners that the looting of aid has considerably reduced following the ceasefire—but the system exists. The aid exists. It is the United Nations system. It is mentioned specifically in the 20-point plan. That is how aid must be distributed across Gaza.

[Brendan O’Hara]

I wholeheartedly agree with everything that the Minister has said, and applaud much of it. The restriction of aid in Gaza is utterly reprehensible. There have been multiple calls for action in this Chamber, but what is the plan if Israel says no? If Israel says that it is not allowing unfettered access to humanitarian aid, what do we do?

[Mr Falconer]

It may be helpful to the House if I set out what the UK sees as unfettered access. There are three areas where our advocacy is particularly focused. One is the registration provisions around NGOs, which was raised by many colleagues. We have raised that issue directly with the Israeli Government, which is what the hon. Member asked about in his intervention.

The second is dual-use items. There has been an overly restrictive approach to dual-use items that has restricted shelter, in particular, and a range of other things, including water purification equipment and a whole range of medical supplies. The dual-use list must be considerably loosened to enable the kinds of operations that so many hon. Members have discussed.

The third, turning to the comments of the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), is the crossings. There are two crossings open, which I understand the shadow Foreign Secretary saw during her recent visit, but significant crossings remain closed: the Allenby crossing into Jordan and the Rafah crossing. Those are two critical crossings, and their opening was clearly envisaged in the 20-point plan. It is on that point that we continue to press the Israeli Government.

The opening of those crossings is related to some of the important points made by hon. Members about both aid access going in and people coming out. I have told hon. Members before that I do not wish to be drawn on specific numbers of medically injured children and students whom we have assisted to leave Gaza. Many hon. Members in this Chamber have discussed some of these questions with me. Those whose questions I have not yet answered have my word that I will come back to them quickly. I can say that, after the most recent wave of evacuations, we have now exceeded the target that I had mentioned to some hon. Members in recent months. We have, after a series of evacuation operations, managed to save hundreds from what awaited them in Gaza and provided opportunities for them to take up here in the UK.

I take the point that the hon. Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara), and others, have made that they would like to see larger numbers. There is a balance to be struck here. Clearly, medical assistance is most effective and timely in Gaza itself—on both sides of the yellow line. After that, it is most effective in the region, and I was pleased to be in Cairo recently seeing some of that provision. Where that assistance cannot be provided, it is appropriate that we look at specialist cases, as we have done.

[Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Falconer]

Very briefly, and then I will wrap up.

[Dr Chowns]

I thank the Minister; I appreciate that. We have been talking about the desperate need for unfettered aid access into Gaza for desperate, starving civilians. At the same time, this country continues to provide completely unfettered trade access for settlement goods into the UK—proceeds of crime, literally. Is it not time for the British Government to ban trade in settlement goods? Might that not help to put a little pressure on the Israeli Government to allow aid into Gaza?

[Mr Falconer]

As the hon. Lady knows, there is not unfettered trade with the occupied territories. They are not subject to the same trade arrangements as Israel, and where there are breaches, we will investigate those thoroughly. We have discussed many times some of the challenges around ensuring that goods produced in the occupied territories do not find their way into the mainstream Israeli trading system, but I do not have the time, I am afraid, to rehearse some of those arguments again this afternoon.

I will close by saying that the Government understand the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, on both sides of the yellow line. His Majesty’s Opposition ask whether we want to see the international system enter what some are calling the red zone, west of the yellow line, and indeed we do. That is absolutely vital. That is where 90% of Gaza’s population remains to this day. Humanitarian provision east of the yellow line cannot make a dent in the very significant humanitarian suffering that so many have described so eloquently.

The most recent figures that we have show famine levels reducing, and severe malnutrition has decreased since the ceasefire, but it is still far too high. I give this House my solemn commitment, and that of the Government, that we will not rest until humanitarian aid is entering Gaza in the volumes required to try to meet the staggering level of human suffering that so many have talked about with such power this afternoon.

19:03

[Irene Campbell]

I thank Members who have contributed to this very important and significant debate today, and I thank the Minister for his response. As we have heard, the situation in Gaza is devastating. While the ceasefire offers some hope, and it must hold, it is important that we recognise that this cannot be the final step. Much more must be done.

A significant increase in humanitarian aid must enter Gaza, and we must remember that the UK has a legal obligation to respect international humanitarian law. I thank the petitioner for creating this petition, and the almost 200,000 people who signed it and ensured that this debate took place today. Finally, I thank the Petitions Committee staff, who work tirelessly to brief and assist us in preparation for these petitions debates every week.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered e-petition 700682 relating to humanitarian obligations and Gaza.

19:04

Sitting adjourned.